J&K government’s debt piles up to Rs 48,314 cr

Asserting that an increase in per capita liabilities signifies rising debt burden on the state and individuals in Jammu and Kashmir, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said the state's fiscal liabilities have gone up to Rs 48,314 crore by March 2015.

Asserting that an increase in per capita liabilities signifies rising debt burden on the state and individuals in Jammu and Kashmir, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said the state’s fiscal liabilities have gone up to Rs 48,314 crore by March 2015.

“The overall fiscal liabilities of Jammu and Kashmir have increased from Rs 44,673 crore at the end of March 31, 2014 to Rs 48,314 crore at the end of March 31, 2015,” the report for the year ending March 31, 2015 said.

Expressing concern over the debt, the report said as a percentage of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) the stock of accumulated fiscal liabilities increased from 51.2 per cent at end of the 2013-14 to 54.95 per cent at end of 2014-15.

At the end of 2014-15, the accumulated liabilities were 1.67 times of the government’s revenue receipts during 2014-15 and 5.81 times government’s own tax and non-tax revenues during 2014-15, the report said.

It also said the buoyancy ratio of these liabilities with respect to GSDP during 2014-15 was 20.37 times indicating that for each one per cent increase in GSDP, fiscal liabilities grew 20.37 times.

The total liabilities comprise Rs 26,525 crore of inter- debt, Rs 1,675 crore are loans and advances from the Centre and Rs 20,114 crore is public account liability as on March 31, 2015, the report said.

The total public debt increased from Rs 26,490 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 28,200 crore in 2014-15. The market loans also increased from Rs 17,205 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 18,321 crore during 2014-15, it said.